Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 90
- 91
- 92
Departure, Invasion, Infiltration

One by one, those who were going to participate in the battle trundled their way over from the house, some yawning and others chewing on the manju Yuzu had prepared the night before for a quick, light breakfast. Grimmjow certainly wasn’t hungry, not after the early-morning feast with his daughter and her Consort, but he suspected that the Shinigami among them would need something in their digestive system to tide them over.
“Excuse me, Jaegerjaquez-san,” he heard a soft voice say off to the right. Szayel’s mate had moved discreetly to a spot near his elbow. She carried a wooden box. Lifting the lid, she let him see the contents. Ajuga had joined him at that point, her ears flattened against the side of her head.
“Ehh?”
Without missing a beat, Nemu turned to the girl.
“Ajuga-chan, forty-eight hours ago you stated that you could see your mother after we injected you with a trial dose of the serum. Can you see her? Have the effects worn off yet?”
“Yeah and no, not quite yet,” the girl confirmed and unconsciously reached up to rub her left bicep. She made a face at the syringes filled with the purple-tinted serum, sullenly adding, “that stuff stings!”
“The pain comes from a combination of the Kido necessary to pierce your Hierro, to deliver the serum and the weak acidic vehicle used to help with the absorption of the dosage’s active components,” Nemu told her. “It’s a necessary ingredient, I’m afraid. Kurosaki-san?”
Grimmjow saw both Ichigo and Rukia pause in their conversation with Yuzu and turn around. The midget’s wide, violet eyes fell on the box, and that seemed to be the cue for her to put both hands on the small of her husband’s back and push him in their direction.
“Is that what I think it is?” the little Shinigami asked. Nemu prepped the first needle and before Grimmjow could protest, sank it into his upper arm.
He was quite proud about not yowling as her thumb pressed down on the plunder. ‘Stings’ was an understatement on his daughter’s part.
“Yes. Szayel-sama ordered me to inoculate the two of you before we leave. This will give your systems time to distribute the serum evenly throughout your bodies and prevent Aizen’s Shikai from affecting your five senses. The syringes contain a higher dose than what we initially gave to Ajuga-chan. That will compensate for your greater body mass and the higher level of activity expected while under the serum’s influence.”
Nemu ignored Ichigo’s wince when he saw the length of the second syringe’s needle. Knowing there was no way around it he bared his arm and endured the painful injection.
‘At least my eyes didn’t water. What a wuss…’ the Sixth thought smugly.
“I’m sorry,” said Szayel’s mate, “but there was only enough for two doses. You and Abarai-kun won’t be protected if Aizen enacts his Shikai.”
Grimmjow had no idea why Nemu was apologizing to Rukia. The fact that Szayel used Kisuke’s notes to come up with this much to counter Kyoka Suigetsu was a damned miracle. Rukia shrugged and gave Ichigo and Grimmjow a meaningful look.
“It just means that these two can’t draw this thing out, right?”
“Like I’d want to!” Ichigo sputtered and for once, Grimmjow agreed with his former rival.
“Papa, look…” he heard Ajuga say under her breath, effectively changing the subject. She pointed towards the northern end of the property and he saw Yoruichi, in her human form, striding towards them through the trees in the company of Zee and two much larger Portal Scarabs. His lip wanted to curl out of habit and he fought to keep his expression neutral. They were on the same side now, after all, and he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that they were with her. When the woman and the Swarm’s representatives came to a halt a few yards away, Grimmjow swore the uneasy atmosphere got just a little thicker.
Yoruichi, on the other hand, gave no indication she noticed anything amiss. She also stifled a yawn behind one dusky hand and swept the gathering with knowing yellow eyes. He realized, a few moments later that she was taking a quick headcount.
“Good, everyone is here. This will make things easier,” she announced. The tricky noblewoman had probably just returned from Soul Society, a supposition confirmed by her next words. “Our counterparts in the Seireitei are ready for our arrival and Szayel, your Division is standing by to open a Senkaimon. Once she has confirmation that we’ve safely cleared the Dangai, Kukaku will start the countdown for the detonations. There will be no turning back once that countdown starts.
“You know your targets and what you need to accomplish individually for us to succeed. However, to be on the safe side, is there anyone who has any questions or who is uncertain about their part? Ask now, because this is officially your last chance.”
She looked sternly about the circle of unlikely allies, while each participant sounded off that they understood and were ready to enact the plan. Off to the side, Ishida Ryuuken, Yuzu and Nel stood quietly, waiting and saying nothing. Finally, Yoruichi’s gaze landed on himself and Ichigo and her mouth pressed into a thin line that let Grimmjow know he needed to listen very carefully or risk having a sandal shoved down his throat.
“You two are the key to this plan. I know that you both want to kill Aizen. We’re counting on your motivation to get the deed done. Nevertheless, I need a promise from you, right now, that you will wait to strike until it is time, regardless of what you learn or,” and here Yoruichi’s eyes bored into his, “what you feel on the other side, before I let you take part. Grimmjow, are you going to be able to do this?”
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been asking himself that all night. Resolving to keep his cool in the privacy of his mind was very different from having almost twenty sets of eyes (or whatever the Scarabs used as eyes) on him while doing so aloud.
There was no help for it, not with this many onlookers.
“I will,” he growled out, more for himself than her, while his grip tightened on Pantera’s hilt. She waited just a little too long after that to nod and Grimmjow wondered if she actually believed him, or whether she decided that it was the best she was going to get out of him and accepted it. At least her ruthless expression didn’t change when it was Ichigo’s turn to assure everyone he wasn’t going to get ahead of the schedule.
“Fine, I promise,” the hybrid growled through his teeth, scowling back at her. ‘Stop assuming the worst!”
‘Fantastic. Hunkering down in the tunnels with him is going to be a real picnic,’ Grimmjow thought disgustedly.
“Then keep your head… or heads, in this case,” Yoruichi replied coolly, before the woman pursed her lips and crisply addressed the General. “If you would be so kind as to ask your entourage to open the portal to your Realm? It’s time to send the Spirit Queen and her Consort to Her Majesty, thus fulfilling our end of the agreement.”
“So be it,” Zee replied and made a gesture. Grimmjow would have liked it if he could see the bug’s face before he whisked Ajuga and Diaemus away. He chalked it up to nerves and parental protectiveness and kept his mouth shut while the Scarabs lumbered off a short distance to create the gateway. It gave him an opportunity to eavesdrop on the kids, one last time. Hana had moved away from her new sensei’s side and the three juvenile troublemakers had decided to hold one last conference.
“Be careful, Hana-chan, all right?”
The Shinigami teenager snorted and swung a mock punch at Ajuga’s bicep, only to pull the blow at the last second and tap it playfully, the way she might have done when both were much younger.
“I could say the same thing to the two of you. Do me a favour, Diaemus… make sure that Ajuga doesn’t start any inter-Realm incidents, okay? The beehives there are probably bigger than the ones in the Seireitei. Try not to knock any of them over!”
Ajuga rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at her ‘sister,’ tossing her claws in the air as if beseeching the universe for some understanding.
“Boy, make one mistake based on shoddy directives an’ no one will let you forget it!”
“I’ll do my best, Hana-chan,” Diaemus swiftly interjected, before Ajuga could really get going about Hana’s ‘unjust judgment of her abilities.’ The winged boy and the young Shinigami shared a long-suffering look filled with mutual sympathy before verdant eyes dropped to Hana’s sandals.
“We’re sorry we can’t come with you this time,” he said solemnly and it was only then that the three youngsters seemed to understand that this parting might be permanent. Hana all but glowered at them, brown eyes darting between her two friends in an eerie imitation of her mother.
“I’m not. I’m the 3rd Division’s 7th Seat and it’s my job to protect the two of you. Trust me when I say the Division’s charter orders me to do it, so it isn’t as if I have a choice.” Hana sighed and jerked her thumb over her shoulder, where the Scarabs had turned to face one another. “You two do your part and make yourselves scarce and if you remember, bring me a souvenir. I’ll help bring you Aizen’s spleen. No guarantees on a platter to go with that though.”
Grimmjow had scant time to wonder when Nanao’s little girl had grown so bloodthirsty, but he approved of the change. Maybe training under someone infected by one of his kind had been good for her, even if Ushōda Hachigen displayed all of the outward menace of a cupcake with extra frosting and sugar sprinkles.
Two sets of Scarab wings got going, creating a stiff breeze that ruffled everyone’s hair and clothing and sent apple blossom petals whirling. At first, all Grimmjow could see was a faint distortion, a visual wavering like one would see on a flat road on a hot, sunny day. The ripple slowly increased in size, until it encompassed all of the space between the large insects. It changed direction, forming a circular vortex of swirling colours. Then the colours gradually faded, until he could see a forest on the other side. His inner feline longed to explore what looked to be a swath of prime hunting territory, but he found he could ignore the urge. His desire to rescue his mate was far stronger than any itch to sightsee.
“You better win, Papa,” Ajuga warned him and he tore his eyes away from the gate to stare down at his daughter. She almost looked cross with him and he reached out and tousled her dark hair with one hand. Doing so allowed him to pretend it was just another day, that he was going on patrol and that she’d be just fine when he got back.
“I will brat. Have fun babysitting the bugs!”
He smirked at her and tried to project all the confidence he wished he felt her way.
Ajuga exhaled from the side of her mouth, blowing the strands he’d messed up out of her eyes, but his display had done the trick. She walked up to the portal, her tail swishing and strode through it without batting an eyelash. Now that, he thought proudly, was the brave kitten he’d raised. Diaemus, he noticed with a trace of amusement, hesitated before he followed her, though it appeared he was more curious about the workings of the portal itself than he was afraid of what lay beyond it. Zee paused and bowed to the rest of those gathered in the orchard. The General then turned in a swirl of robes, his white topknot swishing about his shoulders and followed the cubs.
The portal closed behind them, cutting Grimmjow off from his only offspring. He thought he would feel greater apprehension; after all, there was no guarantee the Swarm would return them. Instead, now that they were gone and presumably in the care of this unseen ‘Queen,’ all he felt was relief that Ajuga would be out of the line of fire and far from Aizen if it all went to hell.
Once Zee departed, the Scarabs’ wings slowed and the portal disappeared. Grimmjow hadn’t spent much time around Mushi, but he could read their body language. The pair appeared pleased with themselves, shaking out and folding their multi-coloured wings.
To everyone’s shock, the Scarabs faced the rest of the assembly and with a bang and a sudden localized ear-popping change in the air pressure, they disappeared.
When Grimmjow found his tongue, he used it to utter a few colourful words, before he felt Yuzu’s eyes in the center of his back. They’d never figured out how the Scarabs got in and out of the Soul Society in order to create the gateways for the others. Evidently, creating portals wasn’t their only trick. Mushi hadn’t escaped her pen, so maybe they had to travel in pairs in order to get where they needed to go.
While he’d been watching the departure, Yoruichi had stepped behind one of the nearby apple trees and changed into her ‘traveling clothes.’ He pivoted around to find Nemu bending down, retrieving the woman’s human garb from the petal-covered ground and folding them over one arm. Yoruichi’s boots dangled from her hand. The cat at her feet stretched, shook out its inky fur and yawned.
“You’re up Szayel! Rin and the others are waiting for our signal,” the noblewoman informed the Espada. Gold eyes met gold eyes and the Seventh sighed.
“Of course. Renji, if you would, open the Senkaimon so we may proceed… assuming you have the energy this morning,” Szayel sniffed, flipping his pink locks back as he issued the order. The shameless clotheshorse wore a brand new uniform, which included a cloak reminiscent of the one he’d worn back when the Espada roamed Las Noches. That explained why Nemu had given Rukia the syringes, rather than the serum’s creator. He’d probably thrown the ensemble together for the same reasons Grimmjow had gone hunting with the brats.
He almost wished he’d done the same. In lieu of his uniform, he wore a pair of Ichigo’s black slacks and a navy blue t-shirt that Rukia had given him. They were well-worn, but the Espada assumed he’d have to enter his Resurrección at some point. Luckily, the midget had informed him that these were disposable. It was a good thing the hybrid had grown so much over the last decade and a half. The only other people on the Estate close to his size were Ryuuken and the head servant whose name he never bothered to learn. He had no desire to fight Aizen wearing a business suit or a butler’s uniform.
“Stuff it Szayel. I wasn’t the only one having an eventful evening,” Renji snapped, but he did draw Zabimaru and stabbed the air with it, twisting his blade sideways as if it were some sort of key and complete the ritual. His comment brought about no heavy blushes, although Nel smiled faintly. Grimmjow didn’t blame the former Third for partaking of her mate. Snagging the redhead had been a stroke of genius on her part. Of all of them, only Rukia appeared embarrassed. Ichigo had ridden his wife well into the morning, if Grimmjow had read the reiatsu spikes coming from his brother-in-law’s room correctly.
‘It’s a wonder she’s up and moving this morning, really…’
The double wooden doors appeared, one square set and the other circular. They slid open, but Szayel held up one hand, warning them not to enter yet. The gateway quivered slightly as Szayel spoke into the communicator Yoruichi had brought back for him from his Division. After a moment, he looked up from the device and nodded, indicating it was safe for them to go ahead.
“Yay! Let’s go, Ken-chan!” Yachiru cheered from her spot on her foster father’s shoulder.
Kenpachi let out a coarse bark that served as a laugh and the two Shinigami shared disquieting grins. He was the first through the double doors and Grimmjow hoped that the technicians on the other side of the portal didn’t scare easily. The others followed in the large man’s wake. He and Red were the last to enter. The Sixth looked over his shoulder once he’d taken a few steps into the thoroughly unpleasant passageway. Renji had lagged behind, to close off the gate once the rebels were through. The Shinigami spared a moment to kiss his mate and to promise he would return safely and that he wouldn’t do anything foolish.
Nel appeared to accept this, but Grimmjow saw the smile on her pretty face fade when her mate turned his back to enter the double gate. The Espada lost sight of her, and their hosts as the panels slammed shut, and then Renji had him by the arm, snarking at him to get moving. Resisting the impulse to stick his foot out and trip Red was hard, but every one of the Shinigami ahead of them had picked up their pace. Grimmjow figured that they might know something that he didn’t about travelling by Senkaimon and broke into a trot. It was nothing like stepping through a Garganta, which was a short, sweet hop. This was more like running through a dark, dank cave whose twisting, sludgy walls threatened to melt away and drown the lot of them. Thankfully, the path held firm and when Grimmjow saw a brightly lit circle ahead, he found he was very eager to get to it.
They came out in the room he recognized as the one in which Renji had been holding his torrid love affair with Nel and in which he, Karin and Szayel had begun to plot Aizen’s downfall. He had to blink a few times, as his eyes adjusted to the stark white of the walls and the floors after the Dangai’s shadows. Several members of Szayel’s Division waited eagerly for them, including a slip of a boy in pigtails who saluted them clumsily. The little researcher was so excited he literally vibrated in place, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet when Renji cleared the portal and glanced towards the control console, letting the technician behind it know he could safely shut it down.
A pack of white-coated, bespectacled geeks rushed forward to greet and gush over Szayel and Nemu, and Grimmjow heard an ‘oof’ sound as Rin suddenly flung his arms around the much-taller Renji. The redhead patted the kid’s head affectionately and muttered ‘good work, Tsubokura-san.’ Unfortunately, there was no time for a more in-depth reunion. Yoruichi spoke briefly with a nondescript woman with glasses, who nodded her head, pulled out a communicator and spoke a few curt words into it.
Grimmjow recognized the signal code that would set off the countdown for the planned ‘distractions’ in the Rukongai.
This was it then.
Aside from Szayel’s people, he spied at least four Generals, and presumed they were the ones who would issue orders to the Swarm. Yoruichi, sitting on her furry black haunches and swishing her tail, was deep in conversation with them, as well as the woman with the communicator. When they’d concluded talking, the noblewoman sauntered over to the Escapees and yowled loudly, getting everyone in the room to look at her.
“I’m going to be staying here and acting as coordinator, since I know where and when each ‘distraction’ is set to blow and where everyone involved in this ought to be. Time to hand out the goods…”
The little researcher who had glomped onto Red like a lamprey reached into his lab coat’s inner pockets. He quickly handed communicators similar to the one Rukia possessed to Kenpachi, Hiyori, Hachi and Szayel. The cat looked at everyone who had received a device sternly.
“Keep them on you and make certain nothing happens to them. Otherwise, I can’t issue you orders, nor can you advise me of your movements, since the shields on this room will be up and I won’t be able to track you via your reiatsu. We have two things that we must accomplish at all costs: we need to destroy Aizen and secure Karin Jaegerjaquez. Once we’ve done that, we’ll deal with the remaining Espada. Do not get side-tracked or try to take on the higher-ranking Espada on your own, no matter how tempting,” she warned and glared at Renji, who glared right back but said nothing. “If you run across them, report their location to me using the communicator and I will find someone capable of backing you up. Am I clear on this?”
Murmurs of assent rose from his compatriots and Grimmjow scratched the back of his neck. He’d assumed the woman would be out there fighting with them, but she and Soi Fon were probably the only ones who knew who was supposed to be where when it came to their plans. It was too bad… something told him that she would have been formidable asset out on the field.
“Good. Then take your positions and wait for my signal.”
Szayel cleared his throat and tossed a few last-minute directions to his minions. Then the motley attack force began the long trek towards their various points of assault, using the underground tunnel created by the Pill Bugs to access the sewer systems. Grimmjow paid little attention to his surroundings, doing his best to move with the pack and not trip over his or anyone else’s feet on the gloomy walkways. Once in the Seireitei’s fragrant underbelly, he zoned in on the one thing that truly mattered to him... Karin.
He could feel her once more, vividly, in both his soul and his mind. It was like finally getting a solid breath of air after having something lodged in his trachea for days on end. Grimmjow felt her surprise at his unannounced arrival, as well as her love for him. It was overwhelming, so much so that he came to a stop lest he lose himself in the sensation and walk off the edge of the stone pathway into the smelly water below. Instead, he concentrated on letting her know that he was coming for her, that she just needed to hang in there a little longer.
A presence to his left nudged him, partly to get him to keep moving and partly out of curiosity. The rest of the rebels had come to a halt and stared at him with varying degrees of expectation and concern.
“How is she?” Ichigo asked quietly, correctly guessing his reason for halting.
“She feels all right. Not great, but all right,” he answered as he released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He hadn’t known what he would find when he ‘tuned in’ to her. At his announcement, much of the group’s festering tension vanished. Szayel acted as if someone had dropped a gift tied up with a big bow in his arms.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, with the exception of Hachi and Hana. Grimmjow could hear the spherical Kido master and his pupil going over the exact wording required to both create and maintain the shield. The Espada could hear and smell the young woman’s nervousness and he understood her concerns. If Grimmjow understood the technical gobbledygook correctly, Hachi would provide most of the ‘muscle’ while Hana would be in charge of weaving the complex spell they’d devised. As the Vizard had to act as a power generator, he wouldn’t be able to help her. She’d have to put the shield together in a very specific way that would give it the necessary strength to provide containment. It sounded as if Hachi had told her to recite each quatrain again and again, to make certain she had it memorized properly and to help keep his student focused and calm.
One by one, individuals peeled off from the group. Hiyori was the first, hefting her Zanpakuto across her shoulders and telling Hachi not to ‘get his ass stomped’ while she was gone. Kenpachi and Yachiru dug in their heels at the bottom of a metal ladder that led to a grate high overhead. Grimmjow predicted that it would last a few seconds before disintegrating once the huge ex-Taichou tried to force his way through it. Hana and Hachi were the next to leave with Nemu, who would provide protection for the shield weavers if necessary. Szayel’s mate pressed an unexpected kiss on the Sevenths’ cheek before she disappeared down the side tunnel, and told him that they wouldn’t be that far away.
That left Grimmjow with the scientist, Ichigo, Rukia and Renji for company. The latter two were there to deal with any Arrancar caught inside the shield with them. The courtyard was large and there was a good chance a few of the Palace guards would find themselves beneath the barrier. He and Ichigo could not afford to be distracted while dealing with Aizen, so it was up to the two childhood friends to keep those Numeros busy. Grimmjow wasn’t exactly confident about Rukia’s prowess. He’d never seen her fight and she hadn’t impressed him the first time they’d met, Di Roy’s death notwithstanding. Red was a different story and he was pleased that Renji would have their backs. He and the ink magnet had sparred enough for him to know the Rukongai dog was more than capable of holding his own against any of Aizen’s rats that had the bad luck to be on duty today.
Their little assault squad arrived at their destination around mid-morning and separated into their respective groups, for they would have to come out at different locations. Szayel needed to exit the system as close to the Royal Suite as they could so he could get to the prisoners, while he and Ichigo would climb out of the drain in the main courtyard, in the hope that the two could lure Aizen into the easily enclosed area. Thanks to Ajuga, Grimmjow was of the Royal line and the bastard would see any other children they produced as competition for the Throne. He hoped that his presence, combined with Ichigo’s, would prove the equivalent of dangling raw meat in front of a starving lion.
The only thing to do once Szayel left was wait, which turned out to be harder than Grimmjow thought. The feeble, greenish glow from the recessed lights in the tunnel’s ceiling and the sound of water steadily dripping soon grew annoying. When a muffled jingle almost caused him to jump out of his skin, he saw Rukia reach into her inner kosode and extract her communicator. She put it to her ear and even he could hear the confirmation from Shiba Kukaku, patched through by Yoruichi’s Onmitsukidō contact, on Rukia‘s Chappy-covered soul phone.
The brief message stated that the first wave of explosions had gone off without a hitch. If everything went well, the Taichou of the 5th, the 3rd and the 2nd Divisions would send as many of the Claimed Shinigami they commanded to investigate the disturbances. Orihime would already be safely at the 4th Division with Harribel and her fraccion. Ulquiorra, Starrk and Lilinette would show up with Jushiro at the Palace gates, supposedly to deliver the mounting number of reports regarding the mayhem in the outer Districts. Doing so would put the three of them outside the shield to defend it from any guards who tried to bring it down by killing the casters.
Time slowed to a crawl and Grimmjow’s patience thinned with each passing minute, but they needed to give the Claimed Shinigami time to get as far away from the city as possible. They also had to wait for the Swarm to attack, which ought to happen in the next hour. No one said anything while the group waited for Rukia’s soul phone to ring, signalling the start of the attack and he didn’t realize he’d begun to fidget until Renji called him out on it.
“Will you relax already? You’re making me nervous!”
Grimmjow grunted and forced himself to stand still. He did his best to let go of some of the tension, but it hardly held a candle to the fire burning a hole in his gut. That was when he grasped that the rising dread and agitation belonged not to him, but to Karin. His body stiffened as he focused on their link and discovered his mate was trying hard not to panic.
In an effort to remain in control, he balled his fists and slammed them against the wall, hard enough to dislodge a smattering of dust on their heads. A few feet away, Ichigo pushed away from the spot where he leaned against the bricks and brushed the dirt and sand from his shoulders and hair. Renji and Rukia shared a look of alarm as they took in the change in Grimmjow’s stance.
“What’s wrong?”
“Karin… she’s in distress,” he admitted, and started pacing again, wrestling with his instincts. His three companions immediately went on alert, and Ichigo’s hand tightened around the hilt of his Zanpakuto. Rukia double-checked the time on her phone and bit her lower lip.
“We will get to her soon. The Swarm will break through in about fifteen minutes. We can’t move in before that. Hana and Hachi need to get into position.”
Then her tone changed, becoming softer.
“Karin is strong and everyone here knows it. Whatever is going on up there, we have to trust she can handle it.”
He looked over his shoulder to see Ichigo’s mate staring at the tunnel’s ceiling. When she spoke, her voice had chilled again, though Grimmjow didn’t think he was the target of her anger.
“This is confirmation that Aizen is where we need him to be to pull this off. She knows we are here and she wouldn’t want us to botch this assassination. You need to keep it together, Grimmjow, for just a few more minutes.”
He knew the woman was right, but it was so hard to maintain focus as Karin’s growing anxiety, shame and hate surged through him. When he felt the first sign of physical pain, he dug his fingers into the brick and bit down on the inside of his cheek. He knew what was going on above them and he couldn’t do a damned thing about it, not if he wanted the perpetrator dead.
The tears gathering at the corners of his eyes mortified him. His rage kept growing, the flames surging higher and higher until the compulsion to give into his destructive nature overwhelmed him. It screamed at him to let loose and rip anything that got in his way into pieces. After ten excruciating minutes, he simply couldn’t take staying in the tunnel any longer.
Karin’s emotional and physical pain suddenly increased sharply, and Grimmjow felt both like twin spikes driven into his brain.
She was bleeding…
With only a snarl as a warning to the others, he pushed off from the ground and smashed his way through the concrete, the stone and dirt with a Cero. The blue energy obliterated the grate. Ichigo, Rukia and Renji hurriedly followed him out of the tunnel, the only female in their group frantically issuing orders into her phone. The intruder alarm screamed just as his feet hit the cobblestones and Grimmjow immediately scanned the area for obstacles.
There were five very surprised looking Numeros guards on duty. Two gaped at him from either side of the entrance to the Palace proper. Three others, interrupted in mid-conference at the courtyard’s main gate, whirled around to see what had happened behind them. A bento box and its contents fell to the ground and Grimmjow figured he’d disrupted a hurried lunch break. For a second, each cluster of Arrancar stared blankly at the threat in their midst. Shock quickly morphed into fear when their brains processed the identities of the intruders. Renji moved first, bringing Zabimaru around to strike at the three at the gate. They had just enough time to draw their weapons before Red’s whip-like Shikai decapitated one of them and bit into the shoulder of the Arrancar standing behind him.
Rukia, seeing that there was no help for it, shoved her phone back into her hakama pocket and Shunpo-ed in the other direction, intent on intercepting the other two guards. Grimmjow left them to deal with the small fry. He fixed his hate-filled eyes on the entrance to the Palace and let his reiatsu blaze savagely, issuing a challenge to the bastard inside.
“Come out, Aizen and face me, you shit-eating coward! Come and get some!” he roared, not content to let his reiatsu do the talking. Beside him, Ichigo did the same, his brown eyes not straying in the slightest towards his wife, despite the fact she had engaged two opponents less than one hundred feet away.
Grimmjow felt Karin’s pain lessen, even as Aizen’s power flared in response. Good. He’d gotten the bastard’s attention. He wanted to pulverize wood and stone to get to his mate and tear into Aizen the second he saw him. He almost gave into it, until a hand fisted in the fabric of his borrowed shirt. Turning his head to the side, he let out a string of profanity, until he remembered who stood there with him.
“Don’t. Wait and hold your ground.”
The wavering, distorted voice that hissed the order at him kept Grimmjow from punching Ichigo, or maybe his Hollow. When the man’s eyes turned to topaz and jet, the Espada was never certain which entity was doing the talking. He was also right. He had to stay here, in the courtyard. Taking on the tyrant inside of the Palace would jeopardize the operation. Luring Aizen out to fight would also give Karin a chance to get away from the conflict, something he hoped she was smart enough to do once Szayel freed her, since he wouldn’t put it past Aizen not to try to use her or the twins against him. The two were there and they weren’t all that far away from his mate. While they weren’t his offspring, he owed Szayel for everything the scientist had gone through over the years to keep Ajuga safe. Aizen needed Karin alive, so her value as a hostage was questionable but he could certainly threaten Abisara and Vindula.
Thankfully, their quarry had decided to come to them. Grimmjow’s eyes narrowed as their target finally emerged from the Palace, sauntering confidently towards them with a smirk on his face. There wasn’t a hair out of place as the would-be-Kami approached, Kyoka Suigetsu tucked into his sash. He didn’t bother looking at the other fights going on nor did he do more than glance dismissively at a seething Ichigo. He stopped several yards away, his gazed fixed on Grimmjow.
“I can see why you Claimed her, traitor,” Aizen chuckled, and then began gloating. “The delicious expression she gets while I thrust into her is something to behold and she moans like a trained whore every time I take her. She’s so amazingly tight too… one would think she’d never whelped out your accursed brat!”
If Grimmjow had a response to that, it was lost as three things occurred simultaneously.
First, the air around them crackled with sudden electricity, making everyone’s hair, even Aizen’s, stand on end. Brightly lit glyphs and intricate kanji flared to life underfoot, the Kido shield taking shape as Hana and Hachi got busy. Layer upon layer of energy strands emerged from the ground, coming together overhead like the workings of a knitter gone mad. They criss-crossed multiple times, each anchored over and over to the writing below. The girl had to be chanting her little heart out with each successive stratum that joined the barrier. The courtyard and everyone trapped within it took on a harsh yellow tint and the sky overhead turned a thick pea-green hue.
Second, multiple high-pitched sirens went off throughout the Seireitei, joining the blaring of the Palace alarm. The resulting cacophony served to mask, temporarily, the drone created as thousands of Locusts, their wings buzzing, poured from sewer grates all over the Seireitei. The great, whitewashed walls that surrounded the Seireitei’s center amplified the sound of the Swarm’s invasion. When the number of insects boiling up from their hiding places increased exponentially, so did the noise. Had there not been a Kido barrier in place, its intensity might have deafened them.
Grimmjow’s brain barely acknowledged the first two happenings, after he breathed in the scents of both sex and Karin’s blood emanating from Aizen’s person. The only thing he truly noticed was the third occurrence: the grin on Aizen’s handsome face withered as the extent of the assault proved to be larger than expected.
Snarling, he drew Pantera and entered his Resurrección. At the same time, he swung his arm in a wide swath, sending a slashing wave of energy at the fool who had dared to touch his mate. To his left, he heard Ichigo scream out two familiar syllables. Coal-tar dark power, highlighted with swirls of blood-red menace and madness surged up and out and enveloped his brother-in-law. When it retreated, Grimmjow’s former nemesis sported a white and red-streaked mask with large, protruding horns, hair as wild and long as Grimmjow’s and held not one, but two blades in his hands. The longer sword, with a missing portion that ran two-thirds of the way up the inky-black metal, reflected everything that went on around it. The shorter blade, which looked more like a cleaver than a proper sword, gleamed dully, like aged ivory… or sun-bleached bone.
Ichigo pointed both of them at Aizen.
They were the brutal instruments of a butcher. This wasn’t the Zanpakuto that nearly sliced him in half in Ryuuken’s training room. This was entirely new. Even with the fury coursing through him, Grimmjow knew the hybrid had unsheathed a double monstrosity. Evidently, so did Aizen, because the bastard’s eyes got marginally wider when he saw the changes to Ichigo’s Bankai, almost as if he recognized its components. Karin’s brother, seeing the bastard’s reaction, let out a low, ugly laugh that got Grimmjow’s blood pounding and warned him it was almost time to sharpen his claws on Aizen’s unworthy hide.
“Yeah, you’ve got no one to blame for this but yourself, asshole. Ain’t karma a bitch?”
With that and with a mutual, inhuman cry, the two charged their shared prey…

Huge loves and hugs for everyone that reviewed during the week of “The Night Before Tomorrow” chapters. We are both thrilled that you enjoyed them. Black Fox was responsible for Toshiro/Harrible, Nel/Renji and Ichigo/Rukia.
I apologise now, but there is going to be a bit of back tracking as everyone gets into position. Regrettably, that is simply the nature of the beast when you got so many POV’s to cover. But, here we are, the final battle has begun.
Next Chapter: The Executioners Tale.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2